Missing Ukiah woman found safe

A 75-year-old woman who went missing from her home north of Ukiah over the weekend was found safe Tuesday at a Comfort Inn in Vallejo, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

The woman's son reported at 9 p.m. Monday that his mother, Elna Jean Koopman, suffered from the early stages of dementia and was missing from her home in the 400 block of Kenwood Drive, according to the MCSO.

The son told deputies that he drove to her home from the Santa Rosa area to check on her after not hearing from her for 24 hours. He arrived Monday morning to find that his mother and her vehicle weren't there, the MCSO reported.

He reportedly checked with local friends and neighbors, but didn't find her, and called the Sheriff's Office to report his mother missing Monday night.

The son believed his mother may have been confused and tried to drive to a home she has in Dallas, Texas, thinking she still lived there, according to the MCSO.

Deputies contacted the California Highway Patrol and requested a Statewide SILVER-alert "be on the lookout" be issued for Koopman and her vehicle.

The son called the MCSO at 10 a.m. Tuesday and reported he had tracked his mother's credit card and learned that it was used in San Jose, where it was believed she may have been trying to fly to Dallas.

The son called again two hours later and said Koopman had used her credit card to rent a hotel room at the Comfort Inn in Vallejo. The son called the inn and spoke with his mother, then went to the hotel and was reunited with his mother, who was in good health and spirits when he arrived, according to the MCSO.

The "be on the lookout" alerts were canceled, and Koopman's name was removed from the missing-person-at-risk system, according to the MCSO.